Sunday, September 16, 2012

Musk ox

With seeing a musk ox in the wild being my top wildlife goal for my recent Noatak River trip above the Arctic Circle, it seems fitting the first piece I complete from the trip features musk ox.

Our Expedition Leader Rob Mullen was painting away from camp when he kept hearing a loud clunking sound. When he went to investigate, he saw two musk ox "at odds." He immediately alerted the other five of us and we scrambled to grab our cameras and witness a dominance battle which has played since the Ice Age.

The setting had grasses and was brighter but I thought to instill the mood, I needed to "move" the musk ox to a tundra scene I saw nine days earlier.﻿ As for the Study, this oil painting is a concept piece. I'd like to do a larger work featuring two musk ox battling and working on this study gives me a chance to try out some ideas.